Local Produce Delivered

The dairy that delivers our milk--South Mountain Creamery--may have to change its signage, because it just announced that it will soon begin delivering organic fruits and vegetables from local farms in our area.

This could save us from the crowds at the weekend farmers market and take us one step closer to eliminating some of the inefficiencies in the way local food makes its way to consumers. What we really need are groceries dedicated to local foods and open for business seven days a week, like regular supermarkets.

(Happily, the local-sustainable grocery Ellwood Thompson's out of Richmond, Va., is slated to open its first District of Columbia store right here in our neighborhood this fall. How nice will that be not having to wait for the few hours the farmers market is open on the weekend? And I wonder how the prices will compare.)

Already, some CSA farmers have been offering clients the option of ordering from a list of produce, rather than just accepting the weekly box. South Mountain is even proposing more greenhouses in the area to produce food during the winter. Here's the announcement:

"Thank you to everyone who replied to my earlier e-mail regarding home delivery of fresh local vegetables and produce. We had a great response, both good and bad, with lots of input regarding what would be needed to make this type of service work. Over the past week, my wife and I have discussed this idea, read all of your e-mails, and have had several conversations with farmers in the area.

We have decided that we WILL be moving forward with a fresh vegetable and produce delivery. SOUTH MOUNTAIN VEGGIE will go live, we hope, by the first of March. Because of differences in handling, we will be delivering the vegetables and produce in a different truck, but we hope to be able to deliver as much as possible on the same day as the milk. We will not charge a second delivery fee.

More details as to how the service will work, and when the deliveries will start will be e-mailed around the beginning of March, when we launch the new website. We are hoping to create a local sustainable network, allowing farmers a place to sell their goods, and of! course you the opportunity to receive fresh and local veggies! and fruits.

We currently have 22 small organic farms lined up to support this idea, and will add more farms as we move forward. We are also beginning to talk to local greenhouse operations in the area, so that we can continue to offer you local veggies in the winter. This is a extremely exciting venture, and we are so glad to be able to offer this to you.

Again, thank you to all, and I will be in touch soon with more details…..


Thanks,

Tony Brusco"

We're looking forward to seeing the menu, Tony.